


Food Of Love

by Sandyclaws68



Category: Naruto
Genre: Community: kakairu_fest, Developing Relationship, KakaIru Fest Summer 2020, M/M, Nine weeks of summer, Not a Crossover, haikyuu inspired, week five
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25618636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sandyclaws68/pseuds/Sandyclaws68
Summary: Kakashi is emotionally awkward at times and Iruka can't help but laugh.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Comments: 1
Kudos: 70
Collections: Nine Weeks of Summer 2020





	Food Of Love

Kakashi carefully wiped his left hand on the back of his shorts, not wanting even a little sweat to interfere with his serve toss. If he could ace this it would end the current set, the last one before their afternoon break. He was looking forward to that break with unusual glee owing to a restless night with too little sleep. He didn’t dare glance toward the sideline, knowing that the source of his restlessness was there, in close consultation with Coach Minato.

Iruka.

They had been best friends since almost their first day of high school, meeting at the entrance ceremony and then later to join the volleyball club. Iruka had been the rookie prodigy back then, skills sharp and mind focused. Kakashi had been a bit more of a goof off, not taking much of anything too serious.

But then Iruka was injured in the quarterfinal match of their first Inter High tournament and Kakashi had been subbed in. His lack of preparation became obvious rather quickly as Konoha High went down in a humiliating defeat, and Iruka’s disappointment had burned in his gut the entire bus ride home.

Even after healing Iruka had chosen to stop playing volleyball and instead became the team manager and assistant coach. Kakashi had gotten a lot more serious about his life after that and it had surprised no one when he was chosen as the team’s captain at the end of their second year. The only thing he hadn’t grown more serious about was Iruka, despite his ever growing feelings for the other boy.

So it was with some surprise that he had received Iruka’s confession of love the previous evening after everyone else had fallen asleep. Confused, and not a little stunned, he hadn’t replied right away, causing Iruka to pull away and attempt to backtrack. That hadn’t helped to settle Kakashi’s own mind and heart, resulting in his near sleepless night.

A loud whistle interrupted his train of thought and he glanced toward where a player from Suna Academy was acting as the referee. He met the other boy’s glare with a sheepish glance and forced his mind back to the game. One serve, one ace, and the set would be over. Then he could talk to Iruka,

He took a deep breath, tossed the ball, leapt, and smashed it into the far corner opposite his serving position. A clean, no-touch ace, and his team mates were cheering while their opponents groaned. A penalty sprint up the hill behind the gymnasium was never a pleasure. Kakashi was beyond glad to be escaping it this time.

“Nice ace,” Iruka said, approaching and handing him a towel and a water bottle. “Thank god it wasn’t a real match, though. You would have been penalized at least three times over!”

Kakashi took the water bottle and rolled his eyes, making Iruka laugh. “I could tell you’ve been working on controlling the spin better; it really showed,” he went on, walking towards the exit behind the gym.

Kakashi was too busy guzzling the water to respond, but he felt a twinge of sadness. Why was it so easy for them to talk about volleyball, or schoolwork, or any of a dozen unimportant things, but as soon as Iruka brought up feelings he froze like a deer in the headlights? He  _ had _ feelings for the other boy, after all. Pretty intense feelings. Iruka was smart, funny, talented, athletic. . . Everything he could ever want in a boyfriend. The handsome face, lustrous hair, and fabulous body were just the icing on the cake.

So why had he not responded last night? True, he hadn't turned Iruka down, but he also hadn’t accepted or reciprocated those feelings. He knew he wanted to at least try and see where things might lead between them, so why did he find it so hard to admit?

“Hey.”

Kakashi shook himself, pushing the despondent thoughts to the side. Iruka stood, framed in the door to the gym, sunlight highlighting the reddish tones in his dark hair. The smile on his face was one that always made Kakashi’s heat beat faster.

“Come on outside,” Iruka said, gesturing. “The Kumo parents brought a treat for all of us.”

Just outside the door a row of tables was set up and, beyond them, the team from Iwa lay sprawled and panting after their sprint up the hill. Everyone perked up as soon as they saw what was being carried from the kitchen, though.

Watermelon. Platters full of slices of the delicious fruit, a summer favorite. Even Kakashi felt his mouth water at the sight; watermelon was one of the few sweet things he really enjoyed. He smiled at Sakura, their first year manager, when she approached with a plate on which several slices rested.

“Just for you, senpai,” she said with a slight bow as she handed the plate to Iruka.

He took it with a smile and jerked his head towards the end of the building. “Come on, let’s get away from the scrum before Naruto and Sasuke decide to start a seed spitting contest.”

They sat on the steps by another door to the gym, around the corner and out of sight of the rest of their group, eating in silence. When he had finished a second slice Iruka sighed and leaned back on his hands, looking up at the sky. When he spoke again it was quiet, Kakashi almost straining to hear him.

“I know you probably don’t want to talk about last night,” he began, “but I want you to know that I’m not expecting anything from you. Our friendship is too important to me to ever jeopardize it.” He glanced Kakashi’s way for a moment, a faint blush rising on his cheeks and staining his ears. “I just. . . I wanted you to know how I felt so that we could move forward down one path or the other, instead of being stuck at the fork in the road.”

Kakashi hummed, finishing the watermelon he already had in his hand. When he felt able to talk he shifted his seat so that he was facing Iruka more directly. “I know I acted like an idiot last night but you did kind of catch me off guard. I - ” he sucked in a deep breath. “I have feelings for you as well, Iruka. Uh, similar feelings. But I also don’t want to risk our friendship, but. . .” He pushed a hand through his hair, wincing at the slight tug on the knots. If only there was a way to explain what he was thinking without sounding like a total idiot. . .

His eyes fell on the last slice of watermelon and he picked it up. “Here’s what I think; this entire discussion is this watermelon. The rind is how we are now as friends: it gets the job done. But open it up and you see the two possibilities. The seeds are all the things that  _ might _ go wrong if we pursue a romantic relationship, and the flesh -” He took a bite and paused a beat to swallow. “ - the flesh is all of the fantastic things that  _ could _ happen if we go for it. And there’s more flesh than seeds, so. . .”

Kakashi’s voice trailed off, uncertainty coloring his last few words. Iruka was looking at him as if he had grown a second head and Kakashi stuffed more fruit in his mouth to keep from saying anything else as a variety of emotions chased each other across Iruka’s face before he burst out laughing.

He laughed long and loud; so loud, in fact that Coach Minato came around the corner to see what was going on. Iruka waved him off with a gesture before taking a few deep breaths and wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes. He glanced at Kakashi’s flushed face and tried to stifle more laughter but he couldn’t quite manage it.

“Oh my god, Kakashi, that was the stupidest metaphor I’ve ever heard!”

Kakashi blushed harder. “It made sense in my head.”

“Don’t get me wrong, it made sense once I ran it through my personal Kakashi-to-Normal translator, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to look at watermelon the same way again.” He leaned closer and took a bit from the slice Kakashi held in his hand. “Lucky for you I really, really love watermelon.”


End file.
